VT
Vermont House Bill H0129

Vermont 2025-2026 Regular Session

Vermont House Bill H0129 Compare Versions

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11 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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55 VT LEG #379448 v.2
66 H.129 1
77 Introduced by Representatives Brady of Williston, Emmons of Springfield, 2
88 and Taylor of Milton 3
99 Referred to Committee on 4
1010 Date: 5
1111 Subject: Education; State aid for capital construction costs; school construction 6
1212 Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to establish a 7
1313 new State Aid for School Construction Program within the Agency of 8
1414 Education to provide State debt service subsidy to school districts undertaking 9
1515 eligible school construction projects, with varying amounts of State aid 10
1616 available based on bonus incentive criteria adopted by rule of the Agency. 11
1717 An act relating to the State Aid for School Construction Program 12
1818 It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 13
1919 Sec. 1. 16 V.S.A. § 3440 is added to read: 14
2020 § 3440. STATEMENT OF POLICY 15
2121 It is the intent of this chapter to encourage the efficient use of public funds 16
2222 to modernize school infrastructure in alignment with current educational needs. 17
2323 School construction projects supported by this chapter should be developed 18
2424 taking consideration of standards of quality for public schools under section 19
2525 165 of this title and prioritizing cost, geographic accessibility, 21st century 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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2929 VT LEG #379448 v.2
3030 education facilities standards, statewide enrollment trends, and capacity and 1
3131 scale that support best educational practices. Further, it is the intent of this 2
3232 chapter to encourage the use of existing infrastructure to meet the needs of 3
3333 Vermont students. Joint construction projects between two or more school 4
3434 districts and consolidation of buildings within a district where feasible and 5
3535 educationally appropriate are encouraged. 6
3636 Sec. 2. 16 V.S.A. § 3442 is added to read: 7
3737 § 3442. STATE AID FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM 8
3838 The Agency of Education shall be responsible for implementing the State 9
3939 Aid for School Construction Program according to the provisions of this 10
4040 chapter. The Agency shall be responsible for: 11
4141 (1) reviewing all preliminary applications for State school construction 12
4242 aid and issuing an approval or denial in accordance with section 3445 of this 13
4343 chapter; 14
4444 (2) adopting rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 pertaining to school 15
4545 construction and capital outlay, including rules to specify a point prioritization 16
4646 methodology and a bonus incentive structure aligned with the legislative intent 17
4747 expressed in section 3440 of this title; 18
4848 (3) including as part of its budget submitted to the Governor pursuant to 19
4949 subdivision 212(21) of this title its annual school construction funding request; 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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5454 (4) developing a prequalification and review process for project delivery 1
5555 consultants and architecture and engineering firms specializing in 2
5656 prekindergarten through grade 12 school design, renovation, or construction 3
5757 and maintaining a list of such prequalified firms and consultants; 4
5858 (5) providing technical assistance and guidance to school districts and 5
5959 supervisory unions on all phases of school capital projects; 6
6060 (6) providing technical advice and assistance, training, and education to 7
6161 school districts, supervisory unions, general contractors, subcontractors, 8
6262 construction or project managers, designers, and other vendors in the planning, 9
6363 maintenance, and establishment of school facility space; 10
6464 (7) maintaining a current list of school construction projects that have 11
6565 received preliminary approval, projects that have received final approval, and 12
6666 the priority points awarded to each project; 13
6767 (8) collecting, maintaining, and making publicly available quarterly 14
6868 progress reports of all ongoing school construction projects that shall include, 15
6969 at a minimum, the costs of the project and the time schedule of the project; 16
7070 (9) recommending policies and procedures designed to reduce 17
7171 borrowing for school construction programs at both State and local levels; 18
7272 (10) conducting a needs survey at least every five years to ascertain the 19
7373 capital construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and other capital needs for 20
7474 all public schools and maintaining such data in a publicly accessible format; 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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7979 (11) developing a formal enrollment projection model or using 1
8080 projection models already available; 2
8181 (12) encouraging school districts and supervisory unions to investigate 3
8282 opportunities for the maximum utilization of space in and around the district or 4
8383 supervisory union; 5
8484 (13) collecting and maintaining a clearinghouse of prototypical school 6
8585 plans, as appropriate, that may be consulted by eligible applicants; 7
8686 (14) retaining the services of consultants, as necessary, to effectuate the 8
8787 roles and responsibilities listed within this section; and 9
8888 (15) notwithstanding 2 V.S.A. § 20(d), annually on or before December 10
8989 15, submitting a written report to the General Assembly regarding the status 11
9090 and implementation of the State Aid for School Construction Program, 12
9191 including the data required to be collected pursuant to this section. 13
9292 Sec. 3. 16 V.S.A. § 3443 is added to read: 14
9393 § 3443. STATE AID FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION ADVISORY 15
9494 BOARD 16
9595 (a) Creation. There is hereby created the State Aid for School Construction 17
9696 Advisory Board, which shall advise the Agency on the implementation of the 18
9797 State Aid for School Construction Program in accordance with the provisions 19
9898 of this chapter, including the adoption of rules, setting of statewide priorities, 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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102102 VT LEG #379448 v.2
103103 criteria for project approval, and recommendations for project approval and 1
104104 prioritization. 2
105105 (b) Membership. 3
106106 (1) Composition. The Board shall be composed of the following eight 4
107107 members: 5
108108 (A) four members who shall serve as ex officio members: 6
109109 (i) the State Treasurer or designee; 7
110110 (ii) the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services or 8
111111 designee; 9
112112 (iii) the Executive Director of the Vermont Bond Bank or 10
113113 designee; and 11
114114 (iv) the Chair of the State Board of Education or designee; and 12
115115 (B) four members, none of whom shall be a current member of the 13
116116 General Assembly, who shall serve four-year terms as follows: 14
117117 (i) two members, appointed by the Speaker of the House, each of 15
118118 whom shall have expertise in education or construction, real estate, or finance 16
119119 and one of whom shall represent a supervisory union; and 17
120120 (ii) two members, appointed by the Committee on Committees, 18
121121 each of whom shall have expertise in education or construction, real estate, or 19
122122 finance and one of whom shall be an educator. 20
123123 (2) Members with four-year terms. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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128128 (A) A member with a term limit shall serve a term of four years and 1
129129 until a successor is appointed. A term shall begin on January 1 of the year of 2
130130 appointment and run through December 31 of the last year of the term. Terms 3
131131 of these members shall be staggered so that not all terms expire at the same 4
132132 time. 5
133133 (B) A vacancy created before the expiration of a term shall be filled 6
134134 in the same manner as the original appointment for the unexpired portion of the 7
135135 term. 8
136136 (C) A member with a term limit shall not serve more than two 9
137137 consecutive terms. A member appointed to fill a vacancy created before the 10
138138 expiration of a term shall not be deemed to have served a term for the purpose 11
139139 of this subdivision (C). 12
140140 (c) Duties. The Board shall advise the Agency on the implementation of 13
141141 the State Aid for School Construction Program in accordance with the 14
142142 provisions of this chapter, including: 15
143143 (1) rules pertaining to school construction and capital outlay; 16
144144 (2) project priorities; 17
145145 (3) proposed legislation the Board deems desirable or necessary related 18
146146 to the State Aid for School Construction Program, the provisions of this 19
147147 chapter, and any related laws; 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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152152 (4) policies and procedures designed to reduce borrowing for school 1
153153 construction programs at both State and local levels; 2
154154 (5) development of a formal enrollment projection model or the 3
155155 consideration of using projection models already available; 4
156156 (6) processes and procedures necessary to apply for, receive, administer, 5
157157 and comply with the conditions and requirements of any grant, gift, 6
158158 appropriation of property, services, or monies; 7
159159 (7) the collection and maintenance of a clearinghouse of prototypical 8
160160 school plans that may be consulted by eligible applicants and recommended 9
161161 incentives to utilize such prototypes; 10
162162 (8) the determination of eligible cost components of projects for funding 11
163163 or reimbursement, including partial or full eligibility for project components 12
164164 for which the benefit is shared between the school and other municipal and 13
165165 community entities; 14
166166 (9) development of a long-term vision for a statewide capital plan in 15
167167 accordance with needs and projected funding; 16
168168 (10) collection and maintenance of data on all public school facilities in 17
169169 the State, including information on size, usage, enrollment, available facility 18
170170 space, and maintenance; 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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175175 (11) advising districts on the use of a needs survey to ascertain the 1
176176 capital construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and other capital needs for 2
177177 schools across the State; and 3
178178 (12) encouraging school districts and supervisory unions to investigate 4
179179 opportunities for the maximum utilization of space in and around the district or 5
180180 supervisory union. 6
181181 (d) Meetings. 7
182182 (1) The State Treasurer shall call the first meeting of the Board to occur 8
183183 on or before August 15, 2025. 9
184184 (2) The Board shall select a chair from among its members. 10
185185 (3) A majority of the membership shall constitute a quorum. 11
186186 (4) The Board shall meet not more than six times per year. 12
187187 (e) Assistance. The Board shall have the administrative, technical, and 13
188188 legal assistance of the Agency of Education. 14
189189 (f) Compensation and reimbursement. Members of the Board shall be 15
190190 entitled to per diem compensation and reimbursement of expenses as permitted 16
191191 under 32 V.S.A. § 1010 for not more than six meetings per year. 17
192192 Sec. 4. PROSPECTIVE REPEAL OF STATE AID FOR SCHOOL 18
193193 CONSTRUCTION ADVISORY BOARD 19
194194 16 V.S.A. § 3443 (State Aid for School Construction Advisory Board) is 20
195195 repealed on July 1, 2035. 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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200200 Sec. 5. 16 V.S.A. § 3444 is added to read: 1
201201 § 3444. SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION AID SPECIAL FUND 2
202202 (a) Creation. There is created the School Construction Aid Special Fund, 3
203203 to be administered by the Agency of Education. Monies in the Fund shall be 4
204204 used for the purposes of: 5
205205 (1) awarding aid to school construction projects under section 3445 of 6
206206 this title; 7
207207 (2) awarding grants through the Facilities Master Plan Grant Program 8
208208 established in section 3441 of this title; 9
209209 (3) funding administrative costs of the State Aid for School 10
210210 Construction Program; and 11
211211 (4) awarding emergency aid under section 3445 of this title. 12
212212 (b) Funds. The Fund shall consist of: 13
213213 (1) any amounts transferred or appropriated to it by the General 14
214214 Assembly; and 15
215215 (2) any interest earned by the Fund. 16
216216 Sec. 6. 16 V.S.A. § 3445 is added to read: 17
217217 § 3445. APPROVAL AND FUNDING OF SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION 18
218218 PROJECTS 19
219219 (a) Construction aid. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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223223 VT LEG #379448 v.2
224224 (1) Preliminary application for construction aid. A school district 1
225225 eligible for assistance under section 3447 of this title that intends to construct 2
226226 or purchase a new school, or make extensive additions or alterations to its 3
227227 existing school, and desires to avail itself of State school construction aid shall 4
228228 submit a written preliminary application to the Secretary. A preliminary 5
229229 application shall include information required by the Agency by rule and shall 6
230230 specify the need for and purpose of the project. 7
231231 (2) Approval of preliminary application. 8
232232 (A) When reviewing a preliminary application for approval, the 9
233233 Secretary shall consider: 10
234234 (i) regional educational opportunities and needs, including school 11
235235 building capacities across school district boundaries, and available 12
236236 infrastructure in neighboring communities; 13
237237 (ii) economic efficiencies; 14
238238 (iii) the suitability of an existing school building to continue to 15
239239 meet educational needs; and 16
240240 (iv) statewide educational initiatives. 17
241241 (B) The Secretary may approve a preliminary application if: 18
242242 (i)(I) the project or part of the project fulfills a need occasioned 19
243243 by: 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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248248 (aa) conditions that threaten the health or safety of students 1
249249 or employees; 2
250250 (bb) facilities that are inadequate to provide programs 3
251251 required by State or federal law or regulation; 4
252252 (cc) excessive energy use resulting from the design of a 5
253253 building or reliance on fossil fuels or electric space heat; or 6
254254 (dd) deterioration of an existing building; or 7
255255 (II) the project results in consolidation of two or more school 8
256256 buildings and will serve the educational needs of students in a more cost-9
257257 effective and educationally appropriate manner as compared to individual 10
258258 projects constructed separately; 11
259259 (ii) the need addressed by the project cannot reasonably be met by 12
260260 another means; 13
261261 (iii) the proposed type, kind, quality, size, and estimated cost of 14
262262 the project are suitable for the proposed curriculum and meet all legal 15
263263 standards; 16
264264 (iv) the applicant achieves the level of “proficiency” in the school 17
265265 district quality standards regarding facilities management adopted by rule by 18
266266 the Agency; and 19
267267 (v) the applicant has completed a facilities master planning 20
268268 process that: 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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273273 (I) engages robust community involvement; 1
274274 (II) considers regional solutions; 2
275275 (III) evaluates environmental contaminants; and 3
276276 (IV) produces a facilities master plan that unites the applicant’s 4
277277 vision statement, educational needs, enrollment projections, renovation needs, 5
278278 and construction projects. 6
279279 (3) Priorities. Following approval of a preliminary application and 7
280280 provided that the district has voted funds or authorized a bond for the total 8
281281 estimated cost of a project, the Agency, with the advice of the State Aid for 9
282282 School Construction Advisory Board, shall assign points to the project as 10
283283 prescribed by rule of the Agency so that the project can be placed on a priority 11
284284 list based on the number of points received. 12
285285 (4) Request for legislative appropriation. The Agency shall submit its 13
286286 annual school construction funding request to the Governor as part of its 14
287287 budget pursuant to subdivision 212(21) of this title. Following submission of 15
288288 the Governor’s recommended budget to the General Assembly pursuant to 16
289289 32 V.S.A. § 306, the House Committee on Education and the Senate 17
290290 Committee on Education shall recommend a total school construction 18
291291 appropriation for the next fiscal year to the General Assembly. 19
292292 (5) Final approval for construction aid. 20 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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297297 (A) Unless approved by the Secretary for good cause in advance of 1
298298 commencement of construction, a school district shall not begin construction 2
299299 before the Secretary approves a final application. A school district may submit 3
300300 a written final application to the Secretary at any time following approval of a 4
301301 preliminary application. 5
302302 (B) The Secretary may approve a final application for a project 6
303303 provided that: 7
304304 (i) the project has received preliminary approval; 8
305305 (ii) the district has voted funds or authorized a bond for the total 9
306306 estimated cost of the project; 10
307307 (iii) the district has made arrangements for project construction 11
308308 supervision by persons competent in the building trades; 12
309309 (iv) the district has provided for construction financing of the 13
310310 project during a period prescribed by the Agency; 14
311311 (v) the project has otherwise met the requirements of this chapter; 15
312312 (vi) if the proposed project includes a playground, the project 16
313313 includes a requirement that the design and construction of playground 17
314314 equipment follow the guidelines set forth in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety 18
315315 Commission Handbook for Public Playground Safety; and 19 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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320320 (vii) if the total estimated cost of the proposed project is less than 1
321321 $50,000.00, no performance bond or irrevocable letter of credit shall be 2
322322 required. 3
323323 (C) The Secretary may provide that a grant for a high school project 4
324324 is conditioned upon the agreement of the recipient to provide high school 5
325325 instruction for any high school pupil living in an area prescribed by the Agency 6
326326 who may elect to attend the school. 7
327327 (D) A district may begin construction upon receipt of final approval. 8
328328 However, a district shall not be reimbursed for debt incurred due to borrowing 9
329329 of funds in anticipation of aid under this section. 10
330330 (6) Award of construction aid. 11
331331 (A) The base amount of an award shall be 20 percent of the eligible 12
332332 debt service cost of a project. Projects are eligible for additional bonus 13
333333 incentives as specified in rule for up to an additional 20 percent of the eligible 14
334334 debt service cost. 15
335335 (B) As used in subdivision (A) of this subdivision (6), “eligible debt 16
336336 service cost” of a project means the product of the lifetime cost of the bond 17
337337 authorized for the project and the ratio of the approved cost of a project to the 18
338338 total cost of the project. 19
339339 (b) Emergency aid. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, 20
340340 the Secretary may grant aid pursuant to subdivision (a)(6) of this section for a 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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345345 project the Secretary deems to be an emergency, up to a maximum total project 1
346346 cost of $100,000.00. 2
347347 Sec. 7. 16 V.S.A. § 3446 is added to read: 3
348348 § 3446. APPEAL 4
349349 Any municipal corporation as defined in section 3447 of this title aggrieved 5
350350 by an order, allocation, or award of the Agency of Education may, within 30 6
351351 days, appeal to the Superior Court in the county in which the project is located. 7
352352 Sec. 8. TRANSFER OF RULEMAKING AUTHORITY; TRANSFER OF 8
353353 RULES 9
354354 (a) The statutory authority to adopt rules by the State Board of Education 10
355355 pertaining to school construction and capital outlay adopted under 16 V.S.A. 11
356356 § 3448(e) and 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 is transferred from the State Board of 12
357357 Education to the Agency of Education. 13
358358 (b) All rules pertaining to school construction and capital outlay adopted by 14
359359 the State Board of Education under 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 prior to July 1, 2026 15
360360 shall be deemed the rules of the Agency of Education and remain in effect until 16
361361 amended or repealed by the Agency of Education pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 17
362362 25. 18
363363 (c) The Agency of Education shall provide notice of the transfer to the 19
364364 Secretary of State and the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules in 20
365365 accordance with 3 V.S.A. § 848(d)(2). 21 BILL AS INTRODUCED H.129
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370370 Sec. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE 1
371371 This act shall take effect on July 1, 2026. 2